'Rwanda: The Royal Tour'
(Peter Greenberg / DVD / G / 2018 / PBS)
Overview: Follow Peter Greenberg as he ventures to the country known as "land of a thousand hills." For an entire week, Peter is taken on a tour hosted by Rwanda's president Paul Kagame.
DVD Verdict: This documentary is the latest edition of the groundbreaking Royal Tour series, in which Peter journeys to a country to offer audiences access to extraordinary locations, historic landmarks, and cultural experiences.
As aforementioned, for an entire week, Peter is taken on a tour hosted by Rwanda's president Paul Kagame. Mr. Kagame proves to be the ultimate guide as he showcases the visual gems his country has to offer.
Together, Peter and Mr. Kagame go gorilla trekking through Volcanoes National Park, jet-skiing in Lake Kivu, and exploring Nyungwe Forest National Park on an elevated canopy walkway.
Finally, they observe a variety of wildlife during a safari through Akagera National Park.
For those not in the know, Peter Greenberg is an American journalist. He is the CBS News Travel Editor, reporting regularly on The Early Show, its replacement CBS This Morning, and the CBS Evening News.
Indeed, he may be best known as the Travel Editor for NBC's Today, CNBC and MSNBC from 1995 until 2009. Previous to NBC, Peter was Travel correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America from 1988 to 1995.
Greenberg is also an Emmy Award-winning journalist and television producer in his own right. Also known as the "Travel Detective," he has published several books with that moniker, Greenberg was brought to NBC's Today by Jeff Zucker.
Previously, Greenberg was a correspondent for Newsweek, among other publications. In addition to his Today duties, Greenberg produces travel segments for America Online, is a contributing editor for Men's Health; produces a radio show, Peter Greenberg Worldwide, for United Stations Radio Network; and an online travel site, PeterGreenberg.com.
He also produces television specials, such as the highly rated "Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life". Additionally, Greenberg serves as the Travel Ambassador for AARP, offering travel advice to members.
A busy man, as you can tell, he also produces and hosts this wondrous television series, The Royal Tour, which aired originally on the Travel Channel and is now, obviously, PBS-based.
The series, in general, features various heads of state giving Greenberg and viewers a personal tour of their country. It has featured a number of world leaders including New Zealand's Helen Clark, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, Abdullah II of Jordan, and Peru's Alejandro Toledo.
In fact, to add to his plate, Greenberg was previously the Travel Channel's chief correspondent. The series, now airing on PBS, actually re-launched in 2010 with 'Mexico: The Royal Tour,' with Mexican President Felipe Calderon taking Greenberg on a journey across the country.
That all said, and phew, 'Rwanda: The Royal Tour' is a delicious inside look at the country and it's people, all decidedly politely presented by Rwanda's president Paul Kagame.
The man himself, Paul Kagame, also reveals things about himself as they walk and talk, such as the Rwandan politician and former military leader took office in 2000 - when his predecessor, Pasteur Bizimungu, resigned.
We learn that Kagame previously commanded the rebel force that ended the 1994 Rwandan genocide and that he was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he served as Vice President and Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2000.
As for the country itself, we learn that Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a sovereign state in Central and East Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland.
Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is highly elevated; its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country.
The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. Interestingly, the population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda, although within this group there are three subgroups: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
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